A golf course with a 6-lane highway? Welcome to the US Open at Oakmont, where I-76 somehow blends in
OAKMONT, Pa. (AP) — For a six-lane interstate carving its way through a world-famous golf course, the Pennsylvania Turnpike at Oakmont is surprisingly unintrusive.
From an overhead view, the sight is somewhat jarring — a wide expressway and railroad track dividing the course essentially in half. At ground level, however, the road is not much of a distraction. In fact, it can't be seen from much of Oakmont's layout.
'And honestly, you don't even really hear it,' Oakmont historian David Moore said. 'It's amazing how quiet it really is.'
Moore is an expert on this small stretch of the Turnpike — or Interstate 76, if you prefer. Its path through the course at Oakmont — the site of the U.S. Open this week — was originally just a train track.
'One of the old history books here talks about how until diesel-powered trains came through, there'd be soot all over the first green, the ninth tee and all that," Moore said. "They'd be driving by and set off all the smoke and just cover the place.'
This is not the Road Hole at St. Andrews. There's nothing quaint about the Turnpike at Oakmont. It also isn't — or at least, it shouldn't be — a factor in the course of play.
With its slick greens and ferocious rough, Oakmont is difficult enough without adding a forced carry over a bunch of 18-wheelers.
Holes Nos. 2-8 are to the east of the highway and all the rest are to the west. The first green and ninth tee, as well as the second tee and eighth green, converge on the two sides of the Turnpike, near a couple footbridges that allow fans to cross over the road.
The biggest reason the roadway blends in when you're on the course is because there's an elevation change down to the highway. So the Turnpike presents largely as a gap in the middle of the course — if it's perceptible at all.
There is no giant screen to prevent wayward balls from flying onto the road. The holes closest to the highway on the west side are generally perpendicular to it. Those on the east are more parallel, but it would take a pretty extraordinary miss to reach the Turnpike.
That's not to say it can't happen. Moore tells the story of Cary Middlecoff hitting a ball toward the highway on No. 10 before withdrawing in disgust in 1953. Thirty years later, it was Tom Weiskopf on No. 8 working his way into Oakmont lore.
'He flared one off to the right, it landed in a passing train, and it ended up in Cleveland," Moore said. "The running joke around here: It was the longest tee shot ever hit.'
The more realistic concern the highway creates is for fans. Even with a second footbridge added between the 1994 and 2007 U.S. Opens, there's still a potential bottleneck in that area as fans cross over the traffic below — which on Thursday included some drivers honking their horns as they passed by golf's third major of the year.
Foot traffic wasn't excessively slow, but it was enough of a slog that bouncing back and forth between one side and the other wasn't advisable.
Near the bridges, the highway is flanked by a wall on the west side and some fencing on the east. The wall seems to do a better job of suppressing the noise from below, but on both sides, you might hear the road before you can see it.
If you're looking for a decent view without crowding onto a bridge, the area behind the 10th green has a nice vantage point of the highway as it descends north toward the Allegheny River. A grandstand at the green on No. 12 offers a view of the Turnpike going the opposite direction.
For the most part, the sheer size of Oakmont turns even a major roadway — which can take cars all the way to Philadelphia in one direction and Akron, Ohio, in the other — into something of an afterthought.
___
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Vondrousova beats Chinese qualifier Wang to win Berlin Open
BERLIN (AP) — Former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova put months of injuries behind her to beat Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu 7-6 (10), 4-6, 6-2 and win the Berlin Open on Sunday. For the 25-year-old Vondrousova, who had dropped to 164 in the rankings after undergoing surgery on her left shoulder, it's her first title in her first final since winning Wimbledon in 2023. 'We were all working really hard to get me back and I felt like, you know, we came here to try to win the first match and now this is happening. So I'm just very grateful to be standing here and very grateful for you guys,' Vondrousova told her team. Vondrousova defeated top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 6-2, 6-4 in the semifinals to reach the showdown with Wang, who was playing her seventh match in nine days after coming through the qualifiers. The 23-year-old Wang defeated former champion Liudmila Samsonova in the semifinals to reach her first final. Earlier, she ousted Daria Kasatkina, Coco Gauff and Paula Badosa after qualifying. 'It's been an unbelievable week for us. And I just, we keep on building and looking forward for the next one,' said Wang, who only had 10 wins this year before appearing at the grass-court tournament.
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Ryan Yarbrough goes on the injured list in a blow to the Yankees' pitching
NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Yankees' pitching took another hit Sunday when Ryan Yarbrough was put on the 15-day injured list with a strained right oblique. Yarbrough, a 33-year-old right-hander, is 3-1 with a 3.90 ERA in eight starts and eight relief appearances. New York already was missing ace Gerrit Cole (Tommy John surgery), AL Rookie of the Year Luis Gil (lat strain) and Marcus Stroman (knee). ___
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Referees picked by the NBA for Game 7 are James Capers, Josh Tiven, Sean Wright
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — James Capers, Josh Tiven and Sean Wright joined a very small club on Sunday. Capers, Tiven and Wright were announced by the NBA as the officiating crew for Game 7 of the NBA Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers. It's the first Game 7 of a finals for all three, who are now the 22nd, 23rd and 24th referees in NBA history to land such an assignment. 'Being selected to work the NBA Finals is the top honor as an NBA official," Byron Spruell, the NBA's president of league operations, said earlier this month when the 12-person list of finals referees was revealed. And Game 7, one would think, is the top of the top honors. Scott Foster, a two-time Game 7 finals referee and generally considered one of the best in the game, was not picked for the crew. Had he been, he would have become the seventh referee picked to work at least three Game 7s in the title series. The referees in NBA history who have worked that many are Mendy Rudolph (six), Earl Strom (five), Sid Borgia (four), Dan Crawford (three), Joe Crawford (three) and Richie Powers (three). Foster — who is frequently criticized online by fans — was defended by Indiana coach Rick Carlisle after Game 4, notable because it was a game that the Pacers lost. 'As far as officiating, I think it's awful some of the things I've seen about the officiating, and Scott Foster in particular,' Carlisle said before Game 5. 'I've known Scott Foster for 30 years. He is a great official. He has done a great job in these playoffs. We've had him a lot of times. The ridiculous scrutiny that is being thrown out there is terrible and unfair and unjust and stupid.' The NBA had 75 full-time officials this season and 36 of those were selected to work the first round of the playoffs. The officiating roster is further trimmed going into each playoff round, with the league's referee operations management team determining who should advance. Capers is working his 13th finals, Tiven his sixth and Wright is in the finals for only the second time. It's the second game of these finals for all three referees — Capers worked Indiana's win in Game 3, while Wright and Tiven were both on the crew for Oklahoma City's win in Game 4. James Williams, who worked Games 2 and 5 of the series, was picked as the alternate for Game 7. David Guthrie, who officiated Games 1 and 6, was the referee assigned to the replay center in Secaucus, New Jersey, for Game 7. Thunder coach Mark Daigneault addressed officiating — and how he and his team respect referees — from a general perspective Saturday, when asked how his team has avoided being called for very many technical fouls this season. 'The outcome of the game and the context of the game is outside of our control,' Daigneault said. 'In between the lines is inside our control. The referees (are) in that category, too. We can't control how they call the game and what they put a whistle on and what they don't. We can control a lot of other things in the game, and that's what we need to focus on.' ___
